Milwaukee has Nation’s Largest Monthly Rent Increase in June 2016

According to a recent study done by ABODO, Milwaukee had the nation’s largest increase in monthly rent in June of 2016. The average monthly rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Milwaukee increased from $880/month to $1,010/month in June of 2016, which is a 15% increase in rent.

This does not mean, however, that Milwaukee’s monthly rent rates are the highest in the nation, but just that the city had the largest monthly rent increase in June. The study looked at cities across the country and their average monthly rent prices. Columbus, Ohio was close behind Milwaukee with a 13% increase in rent for one-bedroom apartments, and Charlotte, North Carolina had the biggest drop in monthly rent with a 14% decrease.

The study also found that demand for apartments in Milwaukee has increased. Milwaukee’s vacancy rates “dropped from 5.6 percent in the fourth quarter of 2015 to 4.1 percent in the first quarter of this year,” according to an article about the study from Milwaukee’s BizTimes.

The article, entitled “Milwaukee has largest rent increase in nation, study shows,” interviewed Sam Radbil, the senior communications manager at ABODO, about reasons for Milwaukee’s recent rent increase. “What we’re seeing is Milwaukee is becoming a mini-Chicago…People are moving to Milwaukee from Chicago and it is no longer a downgrade like people had historically thought.”

Rabdil also said, “I grew up in Milwaukee and lived through the Marquette Interchange construction, but never once did I see a change in the skyline like I’m seeing now…People are starting to see what Milwaukee has to offer. Unique restaurants and bars, a rich cultural scene and actual development. That is why the rents are going up.”

The increasing cost of rent in Milwaukee, coupled with the general shortage of affordable housing, certainly feeds into the issues Matthew Desmond discusses in Evicted.